AFRICA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

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observers allege that prison officials use the free prison labor for personal profit;
however, many inmates leave prison with a valid trade certificate.
Responding to public allegations of unacceptable detention conditions, in January
the Government sent a fact-finding team to Kodiaga Prison, which found that prison
conditions were acceptable. On January 30, Commissioner of Prisons Edward
Lokopoyit dismissed allegations of widespread torture in prisons; however, press reports
continue to highlight the substandard conditions in the prisons. On September
19, the Attorney General said publicly that some prisons were ‘‘unfit for humans.’’
The following day, the Nyeri District Commissioner decried poor prison conditions
countrywide.
The courts are responsible partly for overcrowding, as the backlog of cases in the
penal system continues to fill the remand sections of prisons (see Section 1.e.). Many
detainees spend more than 3 years in prison before their trials are completed, often
because they cannot afford even the lowest bail. Very few can afford attorneys.
The Government does not permit consistent independent monitoring of prison conditions.
In general the Government does not permit domestic NGO’s to visit prisons;
however, some independent NGO’s work with the Government in evaluating torture
cases and performing autopsies on deceased prisoners. In July foreign diplomatic officials
visited Kimiti Maximum Security Prison and Langata Women’s Prison. In
March the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Torture Nigel Rodley released a report on
his visits to several prisons in 1999. Rodley noted the problems of limited access
by observers, poor sanitation and health care, and overcrowding.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile.—Despite constitutional protections, police
continued to arrest and detain citizens arbitrarily. The Constitution provides that
persons arrested or detained shall be brought before a court within 24 hours in noncapital
offenses and within 14 days in capital cases. The Penal Code specifically excludes
weekends and holidays from this 14-day period. The law does not stipulate
the period within which the trial of a charged suspect must begin. Indicted suspects
often are held for months or years before being brought to court. For example, Michael
Owour, on remand at Kamiti Prison and charged by the Kiambu Court with
a violent robbery, allegedly had been awaiting trial for 4 years. The Government has
acknowledged cases in which persons have been held in pretrial detention for several
years. Police from the arresting location are responsible for serving court summons
and for picking up remandees from the prison each time the courts hear their
cases. Police often fail to show up or lack the means to transport the remandees,
who then must await the next hearing of their case. For example, in the case of
six army officers who pursued charges of torture against members of the 66th Artillery
Battalion, the courts later criticized Police Commissioner Philemon Abong’o for
failing to serve the accused army officials with the court summons; the case was
ongoing at year’s end (see Section 1.c.).
The law provides that families and attorneys of persons arrested and charged are
allowed access to them, although this right often is not honored. Family members
and attorneys may visit prisoners only at the discretion of the Government. This
privilege often is denied. For those who have been charged, it often is possible to
be released on bail with a bond or other assurance of the suspect’s return.
In the early part of the year, the Government instituted the Community Service
Order (CSO), a program whereby petty offenders perform community service rather
than serve a custodial sentence. According to the Home Affairs Permanent Secretary,
the Government has spent $250,000 (20 million shillings) on the CSO and
is committed to providing $500,000 (40 million shillings) more in the next fiscal
year. There are 11,000 petty offenders participating in the program currently. The
program may help alleviate overcrowding; however, there was no indication of any
change by year’s end.
Citizens frequently accuse police officers of soliciting bribes during searches or
falsely arresting individuals to extract bribes (see Section 1.f.). The police continued
repeatedly to conduct massive searches (‘‘sweeps’’) for illegal immigrants and firearms
(see Sections 1.f. and 2.d.). The KHRC recorded 1,950 arrests during sweeps
throughout the year.
Police arrested members of civil society groups and charged them with participating
in illegal gatherings (see Section 1.c.). On January 17, President Moi ordered
Police Commissioner Philemon Abong’o to arrest those responsible for violent protests
against the Parliament-led constitutional review process, namely those protests
from January 13 to 15 that resulted in numerous injuries (see Sections 1.c.
and 2.b.). On January 18, police arrested M.P. James Orengo on charges that he
incited violence regarding the Parliament-led constitutional review process. He was
released on bail and a hearing was scheduled for March 27 and 28; this case and
several others against Orengo were pending at year’s end. On March 30, police in
Nakuru arrested and detained 11 activists who were participating in a public gath-
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